Google Earth is by far one of the most amazing applications. I only spent a few minutes listening to the Atomic Learning lessons. I've used Google Earth before and am familiar with most of it's capabilities. The one feature I either didn't know about or had forgotten was the Tour. Setting up a series of locations and turning on the turn was fun.
The slide show I watched about using Google Earth in education had several good ideas. One suggestion was to zoom in on a city where only a few streets and buildings are visible and play a twenty-questions type game to guess which city it was. This seemed to me a fun way to teach geography. The virtual drive idea was also cool. With Google Earth, not only can you visit the location of a field trip you can even see the sights along the way. A virtual field trip would also be possible.
Using layers to make an interactive learning map was suggested by several sources. In literature, a map could be created to show the location of authors or places in a story. In science, a map can be created to show the changing of the seasons over time.
The possibilities for Google Earth are out of this world. In fact, Google Earth even allows you to take your students on a trip to the Andromeda Galaxy or somewhere closer like the moon. For younger children, you could to an alphabet field trip; taking your students on a virtual trip to famous places that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
From Space to Your Front Door
I must confess a certain amount of trepidation at what I've seen tonight on Google Maps. Obviously, Google Maps is great for finding addresses, businesses and just about anything you can think of. It's also great for getting directions from here to there. But, there is so much more to it.
This is an image of my house. Granted it's several years old, but it is disturbing nonetheless. In fact, there are some areas that have, for various reasons, required Google to remove the images. There are plenty of videos on Youtube illustrating some of the crazy things these camera cars have captured. In this picture, they captured a friend's car parked in our driveway.
Go ahead...give it a try. See what Google found in your front yard.
Well...on to less frightening things:
I looked at a couple of the lesson plans for tonight. The one "How do we rock around the clock" seemed a little thin and I couldn't really see how this form of lesson would work. Then I looked at the one about the Sun and the Moon. This one had quite a bit more information. I can think of several possibilities for using this. Lessons on weather could be done using Google Maps. I certainly see how this could be beneficial as well as entertaining to the children (and the teacher).
With Google Earth completely integrated, Google Maps is able to display satellite images of the location you are viewing. However, Google doesn't stay up in space. With the help of some specially equipped cars, Google brings maps right to your front door.
This is an image of my house. Granted it's several years old, but it is disturbing nonetheless. In fact, there are some areas that have, for various reasons, required Google to remove the images. There are plenty of videos on Youtube illustrating some of the crazy things these camera cars have captured. In this picture, they captured a friend's car parked in our driveway.
Go ahead...give it a try. See what Google found in your front yard.
Well...on to less frightening things:
I looked at a couple of the lesson plans for tonight. The one "How do we rock around the clock" seemed a little thin and I couldn't really see how this form of lesson would work. Then I looked at the one about the Sun and the Moon. This one had quite a bit more information. I can think of several possibilities for using this. Lessons on weather could be done using Google Maps. I certainly see how this could be beneficial as well as entertaining to the children (and the teacher).
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Our Solar System...A "Site" to Behold
Our Solar System
Ok...it isn't much, but at 9:30 at night, it's about all my brain could pull together. Using the simple tools of Google sites, I created a simple site that redirects readers to Wikipedia for each of the planets and the Sun. I'm sure there is a lot more than can be done with it, but as much as I enjoy "the final frontier" I'm too tired.
I will, however, share just one thing about a doctor for whom I once did some electrical work. His license plate read "Planet 7." Can you guess what kind of doctor he was? (True story!!!)
Picasa is a Picnik
I'd like to be able to say all of our family photos are neatly and creatively displayed in a collection of scrapbooks, but they're not. I'd like to be able to say that they are conveniently organized in a photo album, but they're not. Some where in the top of at least one of our closets are several boxes. That's where are irreplaceable family pictures are.
Enter, Picasa. With just a simple click of the button, Picasa scours your hard drive for all your photos organizing them by folder. One of the coolest features of Picasa is the ability to tag photos. Instead of trying to remember where I had them developed and searching through boxes of photos for the the right sleeve of pictures, tags act as keywords giving you incredible access to your photos.
The most amazing (and scary) feature of Picasa is the name tag feature. Under the people panel, after Picasa has scanned all your pictures, it displays all the "unnamed" faces in all your pictures. From this group, you can add name tags to the faces. Picasa will then group all your pictures by the people in the photos.
You also can do a lot of editing in Picasa. Red eye, tone, and color are just a few of the editing features of Picasa. But, if Picasa doesn't have enough editing functions, you have the option to edit it Picnik. Below is a picture (inspired by our recent vacation to Disney) I grabbed off of Google images and cropped using Picnik.
Enter, Picasa. With just a simple click of the button, Picasa scours your hard drive for all your photos organizing them by folder. One of the coolest features of Picasa is the ability to tag photos. Instead of trying to remember where I had them developed and searching through boxes of photos for the the right sleeve of pictures, tags act as keywords giving you incredible access to your photos.
The most amazing (and scary) feature of Picasa is the name tag feature. Under the people panel, after Picasa has scanned all your pictures, it displays all the "unnamed" faces in all your pictures. From this group, you can add name tags to the faces. Picasa will then group all your pictures by the people in the photos.
You also can do a lot of editing in Picasa. Red eye, tone, and color are just a few of the editing features of Picasa. But, if Picasa doesn't have enough editing functions, you have the option to edit it Picnik. Below is a picture (inspired by our recent vacation to Disney) I grabbed off of Google images and cropped using Picnik.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Another Letter to My Wife (now I'm just begging)
My Dearest Wife,
Do you remember that chemistry class you took way back in college? I found an app for the iPad today called Elementals. It is a really cool interactive Periodic Table of the Elements. Click on an element and the animated atom stops by for a visit. With the atomic weight and number of protons as well as its classification, this app would have been a fun way to learn about the elements. Too bad there was no such thing as an iPad back then. But, hey! There's still time for our kids.
Doodle Buddy would have been a great app to have along for the 13-hour ten hour trip we took to Orlando last month. With a cool, built-in tic-tac-toe board, it would have been a great hit on the road (not to mention at a restaurant when the service is reallllly slow).
There are also some awesome music apps. You can play the piano, a guitar, or even a xylophone. How cool is that? Pluto Music is not only fun but it's educational. You choose a song to play and then the musical bar starts moving. You are giving clues as to where on the bar the note should be and you are encouraged to "play" along with the music.
Another app I had a chance to try is Dragon Dictation. This amazing app converts speech to text. The possibilities for this app are limitless. No more note taking. Sit up front and let Dragon take notes for you. Got a great idea you need to get on paper. Let Dragon write it for you.
Of course, there's always YouVersion. This Bible App has so many translations. You can even read the Bible in Euskara (just in case you every needed to). The little speaker button at the bottom of the screen is probably my favorite part. Click on this and presto the iPad starts reading the Bible to you. Very cool!!!!
I could go on and on and on and on...well...you get the picture. There are too many amazing apps to write about. Besides, it'd be a lot better if I could just show you, but since I can't bring the school iPad home, I guess we'll have to pay a visit to Wal-Mart this weekend so I can show you.
Your Loving Husband,
Jerry
Do you remember that chemistry class you took way back in college? I found an app for the iPad today called Elementals. It is a really cool interactive Periodic Table of the Elements. Click on an element and the animated atom stops by for a visit. With the atomic weight and number of protons as well as its classification, this app would have been a fun way to learn about the elements. Too bad there was no such thing as an iPad back then. But, hey! There's still time for our kids.
Doodle Buddy would have been a great app to have along for the 13-hour ten hour trip we took to Orlando last month. With a cool, built-in tic-tac-toe board, it would have been a great hit on the road (not to mention at a restaurant when the service is reallllly slow).
There are also some awesome music apps. You can play the piano, a guitar, or even a xylophone. How cool is that? Pluto Music is not only fun but it's educational. You choose a song to play and then the musical bar starts moving. You are giving clues as to where on the bar the note should be and you are encouraged to "play" along with the music.
Another app I had a chance to try is Dragon Dictation. This amazing app converts speech to text. The possibilities for this app are limitless. No more note taking. Sit up front and let Dragon take notes for you. Got a great idea you need to get on paper. Let Dragon write it for you.
Of course, there's always YouVersion. This Bible App has so many translations. You can even read the Bible in Euskara (just in case you every needed to). The little speaker button at the bottom of the screen is probably my favorite part. Click on this and presto the iPad starts reading the Bible to you. Very cool!!!!
I could go on and on and on and on...well...you get the picture. There are too many amazing apps to write about. Besides, it'd be a lot better if I could just show you, but since I can't bring the school iPad home, I guess we'll have to pay a visit to Wal-Mart this weekend so I can show you.
Your Loving Husband,
Jerry
Making Googley Eyes at Google Squared
Let me pick my jaw up out of my lap and I'll tell you about the coolest tool I've used on the web.
It hasn't been that long ago that my son (now twelve) did a science project on our solar system. So, being the great dad that I am I pointed him to the computer, showed him the search bar and said "knock yourself out." After about an hour or two, he came back and had relevant information on all nine planets (say what you want...Pluto will always be a planet to me). I then showed him how to enter all that information into a word processor so he could print it out nice and neatly. Long story, short. His project turn out great and he got a 100 on it.
Now, as the late Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story. Today, I was introduced to Google Squared. This gem is amazing. What do you want to know? Type it into the search bar and be prepared to be shocked and awed. I started with "Presidents." Then, I tried "States." After learning that Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia (the sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...not the one known for peaches and the Bulldogs), I tried "Fifty States." The information was more accurate. "Periodic Table of Elements" returned a great search grid, so I naturally tried "Planets." Guess what! What took my son a couple of hours was completed in under five seconds by Google Squared. It even lets you add additional columns and if necessary join one "Square" to another.
Obviously, not all information lends itself to a grid layout, but Google Squared will certainly be a tool I use in the future.
It hasn't been that long ago that my son (now twelve) did a science project on our solar system. So, being the great dad that I am I pointed him to the computer, showed him the search bar and said "knock yourself out." After about an hour or two, he came back and had relevant information on all nine planets (say what you want...Pluto will always be a planet to me). I then showed him how to enter all that information into a word processor so he could print it out nice and neatly. Long story, short. His project turn out great and he got a 100 on it.
Now, as the late Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story. Today, I was introduced to Google Squared. This gem is amazing. What do you want to know? Type it into the search bar and be prepared to be shocked and awed. I started with "Presidents." Then, I tried "States." After learning that Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia (the sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...not the one known for peaches and the Bulldogs), I tried "Fifty States." The information was more accurate. "Periodic Table of Elements" returned a great search grid, so I naturally tried "Planets." Guess what! What took my son a couple of hours was completed in under five seconds by Google Squared. It even lets you add additional columns and if necessary join one "Square" to another.
Obviously, not all information lends itself to a grid layout, but Google Squared will certainly be a tool I use in the future.
Monday, June 6, 2011
That being said, Google Docs: Drawing is a basic drawing program with several features common to most all drawing programs. Shapes, lines, insert pictures, etc. are all there. There are some features missing, like a paint brush (or at least I couldn't find one), but for a free program, it's bound to be useful. I can see myself allowing my seven-year-old daughter to play on this website.
Looking at the lesson plan we were giving, I believe Google Drawing might be a little on the light side in terms of illustrating a book. Although, I'm not much of an artist, so I could have an entire studio of paints and paper and still not make much of a start.
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